Imaginary
by the blue eyes of a wolf
Summary: "Amu, he's not real! He's part of your imagination!" Amu's mum cried. "He is real mum! Why doesn't anyone believe me!" Amu shouted, "Ikuto's the only one who understands me! He protects me!" That made everyone in the room silent. "Protects you from what?" "From the monsters."
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first Shugo Chara story so I'm freaking out right now. It would be a huge help if you gave me advice and constructive criticism. Please don't flame me, not even if you're a guest, cos it does hurt people's feelings. If you're a writer, you probably know what I mean. Anyway, getting off topic, this is my new story, Imaginary. Please Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Return

Amu's POV

"_So, what's you're name?" A man in a white lab coat sat behind a small desk with a clipboard in his hand. He smiled warmly at an eight year old girl opposite him. _

"_A-Amu Hinamori." She replied shyly and tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. _

"_That's a lovely name, Amu. I'm Dr Lee, nice to meet you." He held out a hand to her to shake. Amu looked at her parents before shaking his hand. "So, your parents tell me you have a special friend. Would you like to tell me about him?" _

"_His name's Ikuto. I've known him since, like, forever. He's my best friend." Amu said smiling at the thought of him. _

_Dr Lee glanced at her parents before continuing, "If he's your best friend, then why haven't your parents seen him. Does he ever come round to your house?"_

"_He doesn't need to. He lives with me. But he's invisible, that's why mum and dad can't see him. Only I can." Amu explained before looking into an empty corner of the room. "Isn't that right, Ikuto?" _

_Amu's parent's faces paled as they stared into the empty corner. Dr Lee couldn't see anything either. "Is Ikuto here with us right now?" He asked, getting back Amu's attention._

"_Of course, he's always with me." Amu replied with certainty. _

"_Amu, he's not real! He's part of your imagination!" Her mum cried while her husband tried to console her. _

"_Mrs Hinamori, please calm down." Dr Lee said calmly. _

"_He is real mum! Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" Amu shouted as tears began to form in her eyes. "Ikuto's the only one who understands me! He protects me!" _

_That made everyone in the room silent. "What does Ikuto protect you from, Amu?" Amu's dad asked slowly, fear evident in his eyes._

"_From the monsters." She replied quietly and looked down at her shoes._

"_W-what monsters?" Dr Lee asked. Before Amu could answer, the room began to shake slightly and a breeze picked up in the corner. There was a flash and a ten year old boy with azure blue hair and eyes appeared. He shot up a hand and Dr Lee was thrown against the wall, losing consciousness. Ikuto grabbed Amu and disappeared. _

"_What are you doing?" Amu cried when they reappeared on the roof of the building. _

"_Protecting you. He was going to hurt you." Ikuto replied as if it was the most obvious answer._

"_He wasn't going to hurt me, he just wanted to know about me and you." Amu defended. Ikuto looked shocked._

"_And you think that was ok? You can't talk about me, especially about the monsters in front of mortals, you know what they're like." Ikuto told her. _

"_Well it's time someone knew. I'm tired of people thinking that I'm crazy!" Amu shouted angrily. _

"_You think that me being around makes people think you're crazy?" Ikuto asked, looking at her dead in the eyes. _

"_Yes! People think you're just part of my imagination. I have no friends because of you!" Amu yelled._

"_At least you're still alive. I'm always the one who has to protect you!" Ikuto countered._

"_I never asked you to protect me!" Amu shouted._

"_Well maybe I should leave if I'm causing you so much trouble." Ikuto said quietly._

"_Maybe you should!" Amu replied. _

"_Bye." He said. The ground beneath his feet rumbled and there was a bright flash and he disappeared. _

After that, I never saw Ikuto again. I tried calling for him, for days I tried to get him back, but never returned. As I grew up, the attacks dwindled away until no one attacked me at all. I should've been happy that I was safe but I wasn't. I just can't feel safe without Ikuto. Eventually, I got over him and know I'm in high school, I have a new best friend, Tadase, and life is finally smoothing out for me.

* * *

Beep beep beep.

_Urgh, just shut up. It's my birthday, give me a break._ I thought as I pressed my face into the pillow. That alarm was the worst thing to wake up too, you have no idea. I wished it would just explode. There was a loud bang and my alarm went silent. I quickly lifted my head from my pillow and noticed a couple of wires on my bedroom floor. I followed the trail of debris to my clock and noticed that it had exploded. _What?! That's just creepy. _I narrowed my eyes at the broken pieces before deciding that I should probably clean it up before Mum and Dad came upstairs to see what happened. I shoved the debris into the bin and stumbled into the shower and brushed my teeth. I had just finished getting changed when my phone rang.

"Happy Birthday!" Tadase cheered through the phone. I smiled. "Do you want a lift?" He asked. I looked out of my bedroom window to see him pulled up in his Vauxhall.

"Sure. I'm coming down in a minute." I told him.

"I would suggest you hurry up, we're going to be late." He said. I turned to look at my clock but it wasn't there anymore.

"Sorry, I couldn't keep track of time. My alarm clock exploded." I replied as I rushed down the stairs. I was going so fast that I missed a step and fell forward. I crossed my arms over my face and braced for impact. But it never came. I opened my eyes to see that my phone and I were suspended in the air. I carefully grabbed my phone and held onto the banister. I moved myself until I was standing upright on the stairs. _What the heck was that?! _I thought as I took a deep breath and continued down the stairs. I realized that I was on the phone when I heard Tadase calling me.

"Are you ok?" He asked with concern.

"I'm fine. I-I just nearly fell down the stairs." I managed to get out. I hung up the phone when I left the house and made my way to Tadase's car.

"So you wake up, your alarm clock explodes and you nearly fall down the stairs. You've got a serious case of bad luck today." He said when I climbed into the passenger seat. "Oh here's your present." He reached into the back seat and gave me a package.

"Can I open it?" I asked. He nodded so I ripped off the wrapping paper. I opened the box to reveal a silver necklace with two white gold angel wings n it. "It's beautiful! Thanks." I gave him a quick hug. "I can wear it tonight." I told him. I was turning eighteen so he, Kukai, Rima and I were going to this club that just opened nearby.

* * *

No one's POV

Ikuto leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. His Azure hair covered his eyes as he looked down at his watch. He'd changed from since the day he left Amu. Not just in height and build but in his personality too.

"Tadase's back!" Nade called from the kitchen. He smiled before he made his way there. He was talking to Nade and Utau while he made a drink for himself.

"How did it go?" He asked. Tadase looked up at him and nodded.

"It went well, she loved it." He began to frown.

"What's wrong then?" Ikuto asked, not missing his expression.

"Why do you need to sneak around like this? Why can't you just show your face again?" Tadase asked.

"Because I don't need to. That necklace will protect her as if it was me. She won't get hurt." Ikuto replied, facing Tadase. He could see his concern evident in his eyes.

"You know that's not what I meant." He told Ikuto. "Her powers are coming in and she's going to need more than a necklace to help her. I won't protect her from their lies. You need to be there to stop her from going over to their side. That was your original purpose all those year ago, right?"

"He's right, Ikuto, you've got to step up." Utau spoke up.

Yaya ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Ikuto! We've got trouble!"

So? Good? Bad? Really weird? That last one probably describes it the most. Please review! They mean so much to me! Also tell me about any mistakes cos I was kind of in a rush to get this updated. I'll see a ya soon! Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

**Easter Holidays! To celebrate, I'm giving you a new chapter. Trust me, this will be the earliest update ever. If you've read any of my other stories, you'll know that I can be gone for weeks. I'm a procrastinator but I don't give up, unless you count This Is War but no one has to know about that…**

**Pairings are: Amuto, Rimahiko, Kutau, Yairi and Tadeshiko. I take on board any advice. Also, the beginning of last chapter was inspired by beyond: Two souls. Awesome game!**

**Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews! I've never had so many for the first chapter. Please keep 'em coming! Enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 2: Return part 2

Rima's POV

"Happy Birthday!" I smiled when Amu opened her front door. She beamed back at me and let me into her house. The walls were full of baby pictures of her and Ami, along with professional pictures of their parents. I followed her upstairs and into her room.

"I know. It's not exactly what you'd expect." Amu smiled sheepishly when she caught me staring at her pink wallpaper and then at her dark clothes. She opened her wardrobe to reveal a hoard of clothes, some were hung up, and others were stuffed in the back as there obviously wasn't enough room to hang them all up properly. "So, err, what should I wear?" She asked me.

"You've never had a problem with clothes before, what's got you so nervous?" I gave her a knowing smile which got wider when Amu blushed. "Trying to impress a boy?" I asked and she practically turned red. "Kukai? No, Tadase." With that, Amu turned away, furiously rummaging through her clothes.

"It's not like that. I've just never gone clubbing before. I don't know what to wear." She explained quickly. I laughed and jumped on her bed.

"Relax, Amu, I was just joking. You could dance naked with Tadase and he wouldn't see the signs." I told her and she laughed, knowing that I was right. I spotted a black mini dress with three pink leather belts crossing over each other in the middle. "Try this." I said, holding it up.

"I didn't know I still had this. I forgot how cute it is." Amu replied as she went into the bathroom to try it on. She came out a few moments later to look at herself in the full-length mirror by her bed. "And it'll probably go with my necklace too." Amu turned away from the mirror to take the necklace from its box on her desk.

I gasped and nearly choked on the air.

There, in the reflection was Amu. She had longer, darker hair and her eyes were dull. I blinked, thinking it was just in my head. Amu had her back to the mirror, so should the reflection, right. But it wasn't. It was staring right at me for a moment before its gaze snapped to Amu. I was frozen, I couldn't even speak. The reflection reached out a hand and it became solid and real as it passed through the surface, slowly closing the gap between the mirror and Amu.

Amu fastened the necklace around her neck and she turned to look at the mirror. But when she did, the mirror shattered. Every trace of what happened lay in pieces on the floor. Amu had screamed and backed away as soon as it broke and climbed on the bed next to me.

"What the heck?!" She exclaimed, her eyes as wide as mine. She got up and started pacing around the room, muttering that she was cursed.

"You're not cursed, it was just an accident." I tried to help. I wanted to tell her about the reflection but I had feeling it would just make her feel worse.

Amu roughly ran a hand through her hair, "That was not an accident, mirrors don't accidently smash to pieces. Then, this morning, I thought about my alarm clock exploding… and then it exploded! Do I need to mention that I nearly fell down the stairs and stopped time! This doesn't happen to normal people-!"

"Amu! Calm down. Just breath, ok." I stood up and gave her a hug. "This is you're night. Don't let whatever this is," I motioned to the broken mirror, "ruin you're birthday, ok?" I asked. Amu nodded and we headed out.

Ikuto's POV

I heard someone running down the stairs before Yaya rushed into the kitchen. "Ikuto! We've got trouble!" She shouted quickly. "MeandKairiwerelookingupanydemonsightingsandthere'slikeafreakingdemonfrenzygoingon!"

"Whoa, slow down. What's going on?" I asked calmly since the only think I heard was the word demon.

Yaya took a deep breath before started again. "Me and Kairi were doing a routine check up for demons in the area because Kairi thought it was weird how there hadn't been any sightings in the last week or so. There're loads of them now. It's like a demon frenzy."

"And their trying to find Amu, right?" Utau asked.

"Would've thought so." Nade replied. "It's only been 12 hours since her powers came in, their not wasting anytime."

"They are actually." I said, causing them to stare at me in confusion. "They joined together just track her down and it's been 12 hours and they haven't found her yet."

"It's a decoy." Tadase continued, catching onto what I was trying to explain. "Well a decoy and potential backup. They know exactly where Amu is but their going to cause as much suspicion as they can to get us to attack them. While we're distracted, the others will go get her. They'll be back up if anything goes wrong." He concluded just before his phone rang. "It's Amu, I've got to go." He said. The floor underneath him shook slightly before there was a flash and he disappeared.

"Tadase should be fine on his own, but just in case, you guys need to go back him up." I told Yaya, Nade and Utau. My sister folded her arms.

"What about you. You're coming with us, right?" She asked.

"Would you let it go if I said no?" I asked back. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine, let's go." I sighed before we headed to the club.

* * *

Amu's POV

I was screaming internally. I felt like I was going insane. I was trying to have a good time at the club with everyone but at the same time I was trying to figure out what was going on. Emotions I hadn't felt in years were slowly taking over. They were emotions from my old life, when Ikuto was around and shortly after he left. Everything was all jumbled up in my mind.

"_Can you keep the light on, mummy?" I asked after mum said goodnight._

"_If I do, you won't sleep. How about I keep the hallway light on and keep the door open?" She offered. I nodded and she left the room. _

_I was asleep almost immediately, but it wasn't long until I had another nightmare. I was running from a masked monster again, just like last time. But this time it felt so much more real. I gasped for air as I abruptly woke up, covered in a cold sweat. My heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was about to give out from its own exhaustion. My eyes were wide and red from crying. _

_The door was wide open and lights in the hallway were madly flickering on and off. I tried to scream for mum and dad but I only managed a whisper. Suddenly, something growled. It was close. I saw its shadow when the lights flickered on but it disappeared in a flash. _

_I took a deep breath and turned my back to the door, thinking it was all in my head like my parents told me. But when I turned around, there it was. The masked monster in my dream towered over my bed. It raised a clawed hand and forcefully brought it down towards my neck. I closed my eyes and finally managed to scream but I knew I'd be dead before anyone could actually come help me. _

_After a moment, nothing had happened, so I slowly opened my eyes. The monster was gone and in its place stood a small boy with azure hair and the same colour eyes. They were determined and confident while mine were frightened. "Are you ok?" He asked._

"_I-I'm fine." I managed to get out. "Thanks."_

"_No problem, Amu," He said, leaving me confused as to how he knew my name. I heard my parent's door opening. "My name's Ikuto. Shout if you need me." He gave me a thumbs up before disappearing in bright flash._

"_Honey, did you have another nightmare?" My mum asked worriedly. I couldn't even speak, I just kept staring at the other side of bed, wondering where Ikuto disappeared to. _

"_Amu. Amu. Amu!"_

"Amu!"

I snapped out of my flashback to the sound of Kukai shouted my name. My surroundings became clear to me again, as well as the booming music in my ears. Kukai had a hand on my shoulder and was shaking me.

"Are you ok?" Tadase asked with concern.

"You were out of it for a moment." Kukai told me.

I smiled at them and waved it off, "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just remembering something." I looked around but I realized Rima wasn't there. "Hey, where's Rima?"

"She got a phone call so she went outside to answer it." Kukai replied.

"I have to admit, being out there's probably cooler than in here." I said, using my hand as a fan. The heat and stuffiness of this place was beginning to give me a headache. I also didn't want Rima to be alone out there. Kukai and Tadase followed me outside just a couple of men tried to jump the queue to the entrance, which resulted in a heated argument with the bouncer.

I shook my head at them as we walked past. One of them caught me looking and stopped mid-sentence. I narrowed my eyes in confusion but kept walking. We found Rima sitting on the pavement, saying goodbye to the person over the phone. She's hung up the phone before realizing that we were there. Her eyes widened slightly. "How long have you guys been eardropping?" She asked, accusingly.

"Relax, Rima. We've been here for, like, 2 seconds." Kukai replied with his hands up as if he was surrendering. Rima's face softened as she put her phone away.

"Why are you guys out here, anyway?" She asked.

"Amu wanted to look for you." Kukai said casually.

"And you didn't? Gee thanks. Didn't know you cared." Rima replied sarcastically, playfully glaring at the two boys. Her eyes suddenly shifted to look at a couple of figures behind them. "Did you bring some new friends with you?" She asked.

"No, what are you talking about?" Kukai asked, confused. Rima motioned to the group of people walking towards them. He followed her gaze and straightened himself out. "Is there a problem?" He called over to the men.

"We're not here to make trouble, we just want pinkie." One of the men called back, staring straight at me.

Kukai looked at them before turning to look at me. "Do you know these guys?" He asked. "Do any of you know them?" He looked at all of us, earning three shaking heads. "Look, gentlemen, she doesn't know you. So would you mind leaving us alone?"

"We will. Just as soon as you hand over the girl. We don't want anyone getting hurt." Another man replied.

"Alright, that's it." Kukai began to crack his knuckles.

"Kukai, don't. You won't win." I said, grabbing his wrists. I could see the hurt in his eyes but I didn't care. I was not having him get hurt because of me.

"You're not going with them, Amu." He told me, firmly.

"I wasn't planning to but I'm not planning on you getting hurt either." I said.

"Amu's right. You three stay back. I'll get rid of these guys." Tadase spoke up. There was a determined look on his face as he stepped forward.

"Are you crazy!? They'll kill you!" I yelled at him, trying to get some sense through his head.

"Just trust me, ok?" He asked before turning away from me. Suddenly, the ground shook violently beneath me. There was a familiar flash surrounding him. "_No, no, no! He's not like him. No way!" _My mind was screaming. But he didn't disappear like I thought he would.

Instead, another figure appeared beside him. Azure hair. Azure eyes. Tall, thin, powerful. Ikuto. Tsukiyomi, Ikuto.

I shook my head as I glared at his back, "I'll kill him."

**Well, if you haven't noticed, Amu is a little angry right now. Well the second chapter is over. This was a long chapter. Don't get used to them or you'll be disappointed. My chapters are normally 1000 to 2000 words but this is about 2200. I'll try to do more long chapters but don't get you're hopes up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**Please review! Bye! ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Yo! Surprise! Bet you didn't expect me back so soon :) Please don't tell my Merlin readers cos I really should be updating that but I just had so many ideas for this chapter. So, without further a do, I present chapter 3!**

Chapter 3: Priorities 

Amu's POV

Azure hair. Azure eyes. Tall, thin, powerful. Ikuto. Tsukiyomi, Ikuto.

I shook my head as I glared at his back, "I'll kill him."

Both Tadase and Ikuto threw punches at the men but neither of them could actually land a good hit. There was suddenly a sickening bone-cracking sound. My eyes followed it and they landed on one of the men. He was hunched over with his face twisted in a mix of pain and determination. His muscles were growing at an alarming rate inside him and it was like his bones were cracking under the pressure. The other men followed suit and began to let their bodies do the same. They were huge now and towered over us.

Tadase and Ikuto paled for a moment before nodding at each other. There was a flash and the both of them disappeared before appearing above the group of men. Ikuto reached for something in his jacket pocket and pulled it out. It rapidly grew in size until he was holding a two metre long scythe in his hand. Tadase did the same but he held a long white staff. In two lightning fast strikes, the group of men fell to the ground. They lay there for a couple of seconds before evaporating into piles of dust.

Ikuto landed in front of us and his scythe returned to its compact size. "Are you alright?" He asked us with concern. Tadase cleared away the dust before joining him. I looked between them, I couldn't believe how calm they were when I was mentally freaking out.

"No you jerks! I am not alright!" I yelled, causing everyone to stare at me. "You left me!" I pointed at Ikuto. "And you lied to me!" I glared at Tadase, who looked down at his feet. "Yeah, you should feel guilty! You said you believed me about Ikuto so why couldn't you have told me that you knew him, that you were like him! Why was that so hard for you!?" I asked but Tadase was silent.

"Amu, just calm down-" Ikuto started.

"No! You don't get to tell me to calm down anymore! You left me alone when you knew I had no where else to turn!" I shouted, clenching my fist so tight that my knuckles turned white.

"You asked me to leave, remember?" He asked, annoyed.

"But I didn't mean it! It's like when little kids say they hate their parents when they don't get the Christmas presents they wanted! You should've known that!" I started trying to hit him but put his hand on my forward and kept me at arms length. I tried to kick him as I ranted about how he left me. Every emotion I felt all those years ago were suddenly rushing back to me upon his return. I had cried for days after he left and as I grew up, I yelled curses at the skies in the hope he would hear me.

I carried on calling every bad name in the dictionary, and some that I made up, until he released his hand on my head. I lost my balance and fell into him. He wrapped an arm around me and used the other to stroke my hair. "Stop stroking me, I'm not a cat." I grumbled but he just laughed.

"Look, I'm sorry for leaving you." He apologized. "At first I was angry with you, especially after you said I was the reason for your unhappiness. But then, I saw you making other friends and a new life for yourself. I didn't want to intrude. I then got Tadase to look after you so you wouldn't get into too much trouble. Do you forgive us?" He asked.

I pulled away from him and wiped away a tear before anyone could see it. I folded my arms and looked at Rima for advice since Tadase was trying to apologize to Kukai. She eyed Ikuto's face for a moment before nodding. "Fine." I sighed, causing him ruffle my hair.

"By the way, how many strange things have happened to you today, just curious?" Ikuto asked.

"About four if you count right now." I replied.

"Interesting." He mused to himself.

"What?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"You're coming into your powers." He replied like it was the most obvious answer. He sighed when he saw my confused look. "Oh right, you don't know. Well, I can't tell you here." Ikuto looked around at the street. "Come back to my place." He offered. I nodded, wanted to know what he did now. "Tadase, we're going home."

"Are we bringing Rima and Kukai?" Tadase asked excitedly.

"Sure, whatever." Ikuto rolled his eyes. He grabbed my hand and the ground rumbled beneath my feet. It was like my first time teleporting with him all over again. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar rush around me.

Ikuto's POV

Amu and I arrived at my place. It was an abandoned Victorian mansion that I'd managed to find after I left Amu. Nade and Nagi lived there with Tadase and took me in. Since I was the oldest, I slowly became the head of the house.

Amu tilted her head back to stare at the house. I smiled. She looked just like her 8 year old self in that moment. Tadase, Rima and Kukai arrived a couple of seconds after us and had the same kind of looks on their faces. They followed me and Tadase as we lead them up the pathway to the front door. I knocked once and then used the lion shaped knocker twice.

"Just hold on." I heard Nade call from the other side of the door. After a moment, she opened the door and greeted me and Tadase but she stopped when she spotted Amu, Rima and Kukai. "Who are they?" She asked coldly. I grimaced as I remembered that Nade doesn't like guests, especially after Nagi disappeared.

"This is Amu Hinamori." Tadase introduced Amu, who looked like she was shrinking under Nade's glare. She waved shyly and avoided eye contact. "And these are her friends, Rima and Kukai." Tadase motioned towards them with a hopeful look on his face.

"Are they your friends too?" Nade asked Tadase.

"Yeah, I've known them since I met Amu." He replied.

"You can trust them." Amu spoke up with a smile.

"I'm not sure if I even trust you." Nade said as she eyed all three of them. She looked at me and Tadase. I could tell she was worried so I nodded to tell her they were ok. "Well, I'm Nadeshiko Fujisaki but you can just call me Nade. Come in." She said exasperatedly and re-entered the house.

"Kairi, Utau! Get down here!" Yaya yelled as she ran out of the kitchen before hugging everyone. "I'm Yaya! Wanna sweet?" She held out a large bag of sweets and offered them to everyone. I took one and headed into the living room.

"What's going on?" Kairi asked as he and Utau sat down next to me.

"We have guests." I told them, motioning towards them. Kairi shook each of their hands while Utau made no effort to get up at all. She just said 'hi' and waved.

"So which one of you is Amu?" She asked.

"Why does everyone know me?" Amu asked, confused, as she raised her hand. "I only came here to find out what's going on with me." She said.

"Ok here goes…" I sighed, "20 years ago, a scientist lost his family in a car accident. He became obsessed with getting them back and started believing in ghosts and the spirit worlds. Two years later, he managed to create a machine that could open a temporary rift to the spirit world. But when he tested it, the machine exploded, killing him and everyone within a two mile radius."

"But the machine worked, just not in the way he intended." Utau started "The explosion caused a huge rift between this world and the spirit world but it also caused tears everywhere. Guess where the biggest tear was?"

"Where?" Amu asked, not bothering to guess.

"Your house. And it apparently gave you weird powers." Utau replied.

"I guess that explains all the strange things that have been happening to me." Amu said to herself. "But that doesn't explain why Ikuto was around or who you guys are."

"The rift caused a war between the spirits and the demons. We're what you might call evacuees. But instead of living with a family who of our existence, we kinda just hanged around and occupied different houses. People thought we were ghosts. Ikuto was given the job of protecting you and guiding you when your powers came in." Tadase explained just before someone's phone began ringing.

"That's me. I need to take this." Rima told us.

"You can go outside if you want privacy." Tadase replied.

"Thanks." Rima said before leaving the room.

Rima's POV

I didn't recognize the caller ID but that's because I tried to block it. Apparently it didn't work. "What do you want?"

"I just called to check up on you." A woman's voice said through the phone.

"You said that earlier. What do you want?" I repeated, annoyed.

"You were supposed to bring Amu in two hours ago for testing. Where are you?" The woman asked, impatiently.

"I told you earlier, I'm not bringing her in right now. Her powers have only just come in, she can't use them yet alone control them. You won't be able to get anything from that test." I explained.

The woman let out a loud exasperated sigh, "She's your friend, isn't she?" She asked.

Now it was my turn to sigh, "You sent me on a ten year mission to find and befriend her so that I could bring her to into the company. It was inevitable." I told her truthfully. Over the last ten years, I got to know Amu and she became one of my closest friends.

"Just make sure your friendship doesn't get in the way of your mission. Your new objective is to observe Amu's growth in strength. Once she masters her powers, you are to bring her in to me, understand?" She explained.

"But-" I began to object.

"Rima, this is a job and as your boss, you are obliged to do as I say and complete any task I set you. If you don't do this, you're out." She said firmly.

"Out of the company?" I asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

"Out of the family. You'll be on the streets before you can even apologize to your precious friends. Do you hear me?" She asked, menacingly.

"Yes, mum." I said quietly before she hung up on me.

**Did you like it? Whether you did or not, tell me what you think and give me advice. Are my chapters too long or too short? How long should this story be? I'm also stuck with started some of the relationships, mainly Kutau, Yairi and Tadeshiko. **

**Anyway, please review! I'll see ya soon, bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yo! I'm back, yeah I know it's been a while but I have been gone for a lot longer before. I'm English so if I say football I mean soccer not American football. Enjoy! Oh wait! I've changed the ages so they are now:**

**Yaya, Kairi – 14/15**

**Amu, Tadase, Nade, Nagi, Rima – 16**

**Kukai, Utau -17 **

**Ikuto – 18/19 **

Chapter 4: Aftermath

Amu's POV

After a while, Rima came back inside. I smiled at her but she looked so distant that she didn't notice. "Are you ok, Rima?" I asked, concerned. She suddenly came back into reality and gave me a small smile.

"I'm fine, it was just my mum. I need one of you to take me back." She replied and stuffed her phone into her back pocket.

"Yeah, we need to get home too." Me and Kukai agreed. I looked at my phone and realized that I had at least four missed calls from mum and dad.

"It would be safer for you guys to stay here. Especially since demons are looking for you now." Kairi suggested.

"I know, but I can't just drop everything immediately. I still have a home and a family and friends and school." I listed. I knew I was making excuses but this was too much for me. First, my powers start coming in, then a demon tries to take me and then Ikuto, who's been gone for years, suddenly turns up with a bunch of his spirit friends.

"But-" Ikuto and Tadase start.

"Please, I just…I just need space…from all of this for a bit." I told them honestly. "So, can someone take us back?"

"Fine, let's go." Tadase stood up and took my hand. I assumed that we all had to hold hands for this to work so we all joined up. The air was suddenly sucked from my lungs and I knew we were travelling. Tadase took us back to the street just outside the club and I called for a taxi.

When I got home, I took the house keys from my purse and opened the front door. Since all the lights were off, I gathered that my family were asleep and I probably should be too. I quietly went upstairs and smiled when I heard Ami laughing in her room and saw the faint glow from her laptop screen.

Entering my room, I immediately collapsed onto my bed. I expected to sleep straight away but I couldn't. I had to many things running around in my mind that it couldn't shut down. I turned my head to see my bedroom wall. It was full of pictures of places I've been, people I've met and possibly hundreds of pictures of my friends. A particular one caught my eye. Our class were on a school trip to Canada and it was freezing. Me, Kukai and Tadase were huddled together, trying to get warm, and Rima leaned in next to us and took a selfie. But in the background, I could see something small and blue. I'd noticed it before but I didn't think anything of it but now it was so obvious.

It was Ikuto's annoying little head. And it wasn't just in that picture. No, it was in practically all of them.

"Oops, didn't think I was that obvious." My heart momentarily stopped beating when I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

"Ikuto! You can't just teleport into my room without warning. I could've been changing, you pervert!" I whisper/yelled at him when I spotted him leaning against the far wall.

"Relax, it's not like there'd be anything to see anyway." He commented. My face went bright red out of a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Calm down, I'm just kidding. I forgot you're so damn sensitive."

"It was hard not to be when you were always making fun of me." I replied and folded my arms across my chest.

"You were tiny and scared of every little thing. I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to." He said with his classic smug look plastered on his face.

"What are you doing here anyway, Ikuto?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Nothing really, just wanted to see what your room looked like now. I was hoping that you'd be asleep so it didn't look as creepy." He answered, changing his smugness to a sheepish smile.

"Well, I'm tired. We can catch up tomorrow, ok?" I asked.

"Your place or mine?" He smirked.

"How about Starbucks?" I suggested, smirking back at him. He agreed and it wasn't long before he disappeared. I sighed and fell into some much-needed sleep.

Rima's POV

I tiredly strolled into my mum's company building and made my way to the first coffee machine I could see. I got home last night hoping that she would be in bed, but no, she made me stay up with her to talk about business plans and how I was supposed to observe Amu. You see, I've known about Amu's powers ever since I became friends with her. Mum and the company had the most knowledge about the various rifts and what they had the power to do. But, luckily, mum didn't know about Ikuto and the others and the demons. That was something I didn't want to share. I wanted to do my own research for once, to be involved in something strange and not have to exploit it.

I lazily sipped my coffee and walked towards the glass elevator. This whole place was state of the art, like one of those futuristic science facilities that you see in the movies. I stepped into the elevator and I ran along the different buttons to find the right one. But the coffee hadn't sunk in yet and I was too tired to think properly, so it took a lot of effort to read all of the tiny numbers. My finger trailed away from the buttons and traced mindlessly along the glass until something beeped and flashed red. Whatever it was, suddenly jerked me awake and into a state of curiousness and I stared at the makeshift button on the glass.

Without even thinking about it, I quickly pressed on the glass button and the elevator began to free-fall past into a dark tunnel. I had to hold into the sides just to keep my feet on the floor. After a while, it slowed down and I could see the light at the bottom. When it came to a stop, the doors opened and I stepped into bright-white corridor. It was nearly empty apart from the large metal doors on either side.

Suddenly I heard an intense conversation from around the corner so I ran to the nearest object and hid behind it. A small group of people dressed all in white lab coats paced down the corridor and continued arguing as they walked straight past me. When the coast was clear, I stood up and followed them. What was up with me today? Must've been the coffee.

I caught up with them as they went inside a huge white room and closed the double doors behind them. Because they left them slightly ajar, I could see inside through a small crack between the doors. A soon as I looked inside, I had to look away. Why was this place so damn bright? I was surprised that no one was blinded by the sheer intensity of it. I shook my head and tried again, hoping that my eyes were used to the pain.

At first, all I could see was a cluster of white lab coats and I few pieces of their equipment on a table. _Come on, what are you doing? _I urged them to move and coincidently they did. I immediately wished they hadn't. Sitting on the edge of a therapy chair, was a teenager around my age with dull light brown eyes and long purple hair. The kid suddenly glanced at the door and directly at me with lifeless eyes. I instinctively took a step back and ended up tripping over my own foot.

"Who's out there?" I heard someone ask before I scrambled to get up. By the time they opened the door, I was already gone.

Kukai POV

"Souma! Take a time out!" My coach called out to me when I lost the ball for the third time this match. I ignored the concerned looks from my friends as I trudged across the field and sat down on the bench. "What's with you today?" He asked me after sending Daichi out in my place.

"Nothing, coach." I replied but he and I both knew I was lying. "Just a little distracted." I said honestly. Damn right I was distracted. Who wouldn't be if they just found that one of your best friends had super powers and the other had been lying to you for as long as he'd known you? But it's not as if I could tell that to my coach.

"'A little' is an understatement, Souma. I've seen you play better with a broken ankle. Go home, sort yourself out, and come back whenever you're ready." He told me.

"But-" I began to protest. I'd been looking forward to this game for weeks.

"No, Souma. Go home." He said firmly and crossed his arms. I sighed and made my way back to the changing rooms, muttering under my breath. This was ridiculous. When I was a kid, I always dreamed of meeting superheroes and being a sidekick but I never thought it would actually happen. Now, two of my best friends are practically superheroes but it isn't as exciting as I thought it would be. Tadase wouldn't bring me on missions or whatever he does. He didn't even trust me enough to tell me that he had powers in the first place.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I stepped into the changing rooms. Another message from Tadase. He hadn't stopped texting and ringing me since last night. I hadn't texted back, I didn't want to. All he would do is give me excuses to why he felt the need to lie to me for years on end. As I stared at my phone screen, I didn't realize that it was almost pitch black in the room, which was strange because it was 10 o clock in the morning. I shrugged it off and turned the lights on. But when I did, there was someone standing in front of me. Wait, two people standing in front of me.

"Is this the kid?" The smaller guy asked. His eyes were black and I could see dark veins trailing up his neck and chin.

"Yes, the energetic one." The taller one nodded her head. She had long black hair and at least looked a bit like a human. "You are a friend of Hinamori, correct?" She asked, pointed a long finger at me.

"Who's asking?" I asked, trying to keep my cool because inside I was screaming.

"You don't need to know." The smaller guy stated.

"Just answer the question, boy." The woman said, annoyed.

"You don't need to know." I mimicked but I wished I hadn't. These guys were demons, weren't they? And I just mimicked one of them. I am so dead.

"You have a lot of guts for a human." The woman jabbed me in the side and glared at me.

"Can I eat them?" The guy asked her, happily. I'm gonna die. I am going to fricking die.

"He's no use to us. Go ahead." The woman waved him off. "Let this be a warning to Hinamori." I barely heard her speak over my body screaming at me to run. I wanted to, I really did. But I couldn't move. The small guy ran at me, his mouth a lot bigger than it was before. I had finally found my own super power. I could see the future. I would be dead on the floor in less than three seconds.

There was suddenly a flash of light and the king of creepiness went flying through the far wall. Tadase landed on his feet and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm late."

"Behind you!" I yelled when I saw the demon chick raise a clawed hand towards him. She brought it down and slashed his shoulder. Tadase took out his staff and teleported behind her. He jabbed it into her back and she screamed before bursting into flames.

"Are you ok?" He asked putting his staff away.

"You're bleeding. I think we should be worrying about you." I told him and looked at the cut on his shoulder.

"No you shouldn't." Someone said behind me before I felt something sharp against my neck. The king of creepiness was back and his teeth were closed around the side of my neck. "Tell me where Hinamori is and this kid doesn't get eaten." He threatened.

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Tadase asked.

"You won't. But if you don't tell me where she is then the kid is definitely being eaten." He replied.

I used one of football boots to partially take off the other one. I kicked the air and the lose shoe flew up and hit the demon in the face. He growled in pain and fell backwards. His teeth were still around my neck and I fell back as well. "Tadase, go in my bag and get me a fork." I managed to get out.

"You have a fork in your bag?" He asked but did as I asked. Sure enough, next to my numerous snacks was a plastic fork. He threw it at me and I caught it before repeatedly stabbing it into the demon's chest until he burst into flames, resulting in a ring shaped burn around my neck where his teeth had caught fire. Tadase helped me up and took me home. I wasn't just his friend, I was his sidekick.

**I hoped you enjoyed that because it was a long chapter for me. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites and the advice. I'll see ya soon, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I told you guys I would be back soon so here I am. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Safe house 

Amu's POV

I'm never leaving this place. Not ever.

This is my safe house. There's no demon that can get to me here.

I sat in the bath tub, fully-clothed, and hugged my knees close to my chest as I stared at the locked bathroom door. The banging and the shouts behind it got louder and louder by the second but I didn't care. I wasn't coming out.

Ikuto's POV

"Amu! Get out, now!" Utau yelled as she brought her fists down of the door.

"Please, Amu. We'll let you stay here but some of us need the bathroom." Yaya whined, sitting cross-legged on the floor. I heard a splashing sound and I saw Kukai shaking his water bottle in front of her. "Jerk." She pouted and turned away.

"Ikuto. It's been hours. What did you do to her?" Tadase gave me an accused look along with everyone else.

"Why does everyone think it was me? Maybe she's just gone crazy." I defended myself but it seemed like no one believed me. Yes, Amu is traumatized. Yes, I was there. But no, it was not my fault. I don't accidently scare people.

"Well, what happened?" Utau put her hands on her hips and looked at me expectedly.

"_What would like to order?" The woman at the counter smiled as I studied the menu on the wall. _

"_How about you surprise me?" I asked, smiling back. She looked at me for a bit before turning to the coffee machines. _

"_You look like a café latte kind of guy." She commented. "To stay or to go?" She asked._

"_To stay, I'm meeting a friend here." I replied, looking at my watch. "She'll probably want something too. Make those two café lattes." _

"_Sure thing. Enjoy!" She handed me two hot drinks and beamed at me. How can she smile so much? She works in a coffee shop all day. I waited at the far table and sipped my latte until Amu came stumbling through the door. She was red-faced, obviously out of breath, and had a small cut across her cheek. _

"_Hi! Sorry, I'm late." She panted and plopped down on the seat opposite me before taking a huge sip of her coffee. As if a hot drink would cool her down. _

"_You ok?" I asked, staring at the cut on her cheek. _

"_Luckily. I ran into a demon or it might've been a normal kidnapper, I' m not sure, but I managed to blast him and get away." She blurted out. Did she just say 'blast it'?_

"_Are you saying you used your powers?" I asked, lowering my voice at that last part. I know she had used her powers before, on her birthday, but she couldn't call on them yet, right?_

"_Yeah. I put my hands up at that guy went flying. But look, if I do this," She put her hand up facing the cup and concentrated. "Nothing happens. Absolutely nada." She observed with an angry tone. _

"_You've had your powers for two days. They're not going to work straight away. Chill out." I told her and put a hand on her shoulder. We sat in Starbucks for about an hour, catching up with each other's lives. I told her about everyone and how we live, while she told me about Rima and Kukai and how she met them. Everything was fine until we stepped out of the door. _

"_Freeze! Police!" _

_I stood face to face with two armed policemen and a particularly sporty police car. Come on, demons. If you're gonna act as mortals, at least make it look realistic. There were civilians all around us so we couldn't have a showdown here. That meant me and Amu would have to play along until they striked first. The first 'policeman' handcuffed us and stuffed us into the car before speeding away. _

"_Hey Mr. What exactly did we do wrong?" Amu asked. I'm guessing she didn't know that they're demons and not real protectors of the law. _

"_We've been trackin' you and your friend for a couple of weeks and we've finally found ya. It appears that you might be his accomplice." The other demon replied. I could literally see his black veins popping out from under the skin of his neck. They really weren't good at this._

"_Well that's funny. I'm dead and I haven't been out of the house for over a year. Have you perhaps arrested the wrong people, officer?" I asked, smirking into the rear-view mirror cos I knew he could see it. I looked out of window and noticed that we'd driven into the forest at the side of the motorway. Perfect. "Amu, jump!" _

"_Wha!" She didn't have time to finish her sentence before I opened the door and pushed her out of the car. I followed and rolled of the forest floor until I came to a stop. The car lost control and crashed into a tree. _

"_What did you do!? Those were policemen. You just killed two policemen!" Amu yelled as she stood up. The demons inside blew up, engulfing the car in flames as well. "The others will know that it was us, we'll be fugitives. We're criminals, Oh man, we're criminals." _

"_Woah, woah! Calm down, we're not criminals." I put two hands on her shoulders but she ran away from me._

"_You're a murder! You killed those policemen!" She shouted. She was crying now. Great._

"_They weren't policemen. They were demons who were going to kill us. Why would policemen arrest us for something we didn't do, claim that they'd been tracking us and then drive us to the middle of no where?" I asked. She visibly calmed down and looked back at the car. She knew I was right. _

"_Take me back," She said quietly._

"_To where? Starbucks or to your house?" I asked, confused as to what she meant._

"_No. To your place. I'll be safer there, right?" She looked at me pleadingly. I agreed and took her hand. _

"So it was your fault?" Nade asked, even though it sounded more like a statement. I just told them everything and they still didn't believe me. Ridiculous.

* * *

Utau's POV

I yawned as I checked the time on my phone. 9:00pm. And Amu was still locked in the bathroom. Yaya gave up hours ago and just found a house in the city to do her business in. I took a sip from the coke can in my hand and headed up to the roof. On a clear night like this, you could see the whole city. But when I got up, someone was already sitting there. "Kukai, you're in my spot. Move." I ordered.

"How about no. I was up here first." He replied shortly with a smirk.

"Move." I repeated, folding my arms.

"Make me." He taunted. My fists clenched, practically begging me to hit his face with them.

"Do you really want me to do that?" I asked and hoped that my threat might scare him away. But he just continued to smirk at me. This demon killer was getting too cocky for his own good.

"There's plenty of room. Just sit down next to me." He suggested and moved up. I glared at him and he only returned it. I could tell that a glaring competition wasn't going to get me anywhere so I gave up and sat down.

"Is Amu still in the bathroom?" He asked, stretching himself out.

"Yeah. Looks like she's not leaving anytime soon." I answered.

"I bet she'll stay in there all night." Kukai sighed, staring at the city in front of him.

"How much?" I asked.

"What?" He looked confused.

"How much do you bet that she won't come out all night?" I asked. I loved a good bet, mainly because I've never lost.

"Uhh, I dunno. £20." He finally decided.

"That's it? You're such a cheapscape. I'll bet £50 that she'll give up tonight." I said holding out a hand.

"You're on!" He shook it enthusiastically. Ha, sucker.

Amu's POV

"Amu, come on. It's 11o clock. You need to come out now." I heard Nade say through the door. She sounded so defeated. Why did she keep trying "Don't you want some food?" Utau asked, sounding hopeful. My stomach rumbled. Damn it why did I have to be in the bathroom? The only thing I can do is play on my phone and pee.

"No interfering!" Kukai shouted.

"Amu, what is this really about?" Nade asked, her tone a lot more sympathetic and caring than it was before. I could hear Utau and Kukai below so we were alone together.

"I'm scared ok? For the past two days, all I've thought about is demons and how they're all out to get me. Even Kukai can protect himself but I have all these powers and I can't." The word poured out without me even thinking about it.

"Amu let me in." Nade said after sighing. I was hesitant but I unlocked the bathroom door and let her in. "Come here." She pulled me into a hug. "Look, I know how you feel, I've been there before. My brother was kidnapped and I felt like I'd let him and everyone down. But I learned that being able to protect people isn't a birth right, you have to learn. It's understandable that you're scared right now but I promise it will get better. You've just gotta take a leap of faith." Nade pulled away from me and held me at arm's length, shaking my shoulders.

"How am I supposed to take a leap of faith?" I asked. I didn't know whether she meant literally or figuratively. I assumed she meant figuratively since she was being all deep and everything.

"I'll show you." She took my hand and we were suddenly on the last carriage of the underground train. Me and Ikuto used to play here all he time when we were kids. I had to hold onto the bars to keep my balance while Nade carefully walked forwards and kicked open the carriage doors.

"Wha, what are you doing!" I shrieked. Had she gone crazy?

"We're gonna take a leap of faith." She looked at my horrified face and laughed. "Don't worry, I'll get us out of there before you even touch the ground, I promise." She held out a hand and I took it, ignoring every voice in my head that screamed at me and told me not to do it. "You ready?" She asked. I nodded as the ferocious wind blew my hair forward. Nade squeezed my hand and jumped.

The next thing I knew, I was back in the bathroom. Was it a dream? No, my hair was completely dishevelled and Nade was lying in an undignified heap in the bathtub. "Are you ok? I thought you'd be better at teleporting than that." I commented, helping her up.

She panted and glared at me, "I didn't teleport you out. You did. Congrats."

**Before you're all like 'this is a romance story, where's the romance?' it's because I wanted to sort out all the friendships first so it the romance part would seem more realistic. There won't be any eyes meeting across the room in this story. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, they mean a lot. Bye!**


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